collinsmom and I went out to Wilderstead this evening just to piddle around. I wanted to trim the margins of the road in a place or two, and she wanted to check on the elderberries. I had been out there this afternoon with Sassy the Wonder Dog, but on a lark we went out again.As I was opening the rollup door to the cabin, we heard a mewing sound. A cat? No cat inside the cabin. Looking underneath, we found a tiny kitten resting on one of the railroad ties that support the joists. It was little and weak-looking, but it had a mighty cry.
collinsmom volunteered to crawl under the cabin and fetch it out. I was surprised that she thought herself able, but I didn't think I could crawl under there, so I let her. She fetched it out: a tiny, dehydrated, starving thing with red eyes, abounding in ticks and mites. She lay in collinsmom's lap all the way home. She got fed out of a syringe immediately, then went to sleep. Our best guess is that it -- or she, I should say -- was just weaned (or nearly so), when somebody dumped her -- probably this morning, up on the road. The kitten then probably moved downhill, that being easier than uphill, finally hiding under our cabin sometime after Sassy and I left this afternoon. She probably couldn't have survived another day.
collinsmom said, "I guess I'd better go to the vet tomorrow." We didn't even have to question. God put this little thing out where we would find it, then called us out there. She is now on the gravy train for life, if she survives. Her name is to be Grace. She is a little yellow domestic shorthair. I'll post some pix later on.Funny.
collinsmom said something recently about being offered a cat. And I've felt it strange not to have a cat around. But we both resisted getting another pet. We take seriously our obligations to the pets we take on. But when God takes a hand, you accept the gift (and the responsibility) and go pick up some kitten food & stuff.